College Football Rankings 2011: Winners and Losers from Week 7 AP Poll

Chris Graythen/Getty ImagesLSU Coach Les Miles is all smiles after his team's No. 1 AP ranking in Week 7

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This week’s Associated Press rankings were bittersweet for the Southeastern Conference.

First and second place atop the poll were retained by LSU and Alabama, respectively, while Auburn fell to No. 24 and Florida tumbled out of the Top 25. The Razorbacks of Arkansas proved they were worthy of a No. 10 ranking, beating the Auburn Tigers (38-14) in Fayetteville, hence bringing the total of SEC schools in the Top 10 up to three.

Here's our list of this week's winners in the AP Poll (Week 7) and the losers whose visions of victories have dwindled since the preseason.

The Winners

• The Tigers of LSU, who after their battle in the bayou, sent the Florida Gators limping back to the Sunshine State after losing (41-11) two conference games in a row.

• Alabama, whose homecoming was crowned with a decisive win over Vanderbilt (34-0), earning them a 6-0 record and a No. 2 place in the rankings.

• Oklahoma, whose Sooners wrangled the Texas Longhorns (55-17).

• Despite Wisconsin’s 48-17 win over Nebraska, and although Boise’s boys in blue dominated Fresno State 57-7, South Carolina was another big winner after benching their quarterback, Stephen Garcia, and allowing Conner Shaw a chance to show his stuff against Kentucky (54-3). Shaw completed 26-of-39 passes for 311 yards, bringing the Gamecocks back into the SEC East picture.

The Losers

Perhaps the biggest losers in this week’s AP Poll are Florida and Florida State, teams that had higher preseason rankings and promises. And although coach Mark Richt claimed his 100th win in a colorful showdown in Knoxville, his Bulldogs did not crack Week 7's Top 25. The Dawgs—although improving—are overshadowed by their in-state rival, Georgia Tech, who this week ranked at No. 12, proving that the Yellow Jackets’ sting is getting more lethal by the week.